Colts go to 28-0 with win

Wagner takes over in fourth quarter

Chartiers Valley coach Tim McConnell was sporting a green shirt and tie with his suit Saturday in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

His Colts got a little bit of that Irish luck at the buzzer and defeated Oakland Catholic, 46-43, in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal played at Peters Township.

The unbeaten season of Chartiers Valley (28-0) will continue in the semifinals with a fourth game against Thomas Jefferson on Tuesday at a site and time yet to be determined. The Colts handled the Jaguars twice during their Section 1 regularseason meetings and again in the WPIAL championship.

Getting to the next round was not easy. Chartiers Valley made three of four free throws in the final 45 seconds and was clinging to a threepoint lead when Oakland Catholic’s Margaret Terry hauled in a long rebound and launched a 3-point attempt that banked off the backboard, rolled around the rim and spun out as the buzzer sounded.

While the Colts celebrated, the Eagles were in disbelief.

“I thought that second one was going to go in, maybe we could have had the luck of the Irish today,” said Oakland Catholic coach Brianne O’Rourke.

The Eagles (22-5) were a tough out and held a 36-35 lead after three quarters before Mackenzie Wagner of Chartiers Valley took over. She scored 14 of her teamleading 17 points in the second half and also pulled down five rebounds in the game.

“She’s a great foul shooter, she’s a great shooter, she’s a great leader,” McConnell said.

“She’s a great all-around player. We’re just glad she’s on our team.”

Megan McConnell and Aislin Malcolm scored 11 points each for the Colts.

The Eagles got a gamehigh 19 points from Alexis Sestric. Sierra DeAngelo scored the first 12 points for Oakland Catholic en route to 16 first-half points. She finished with 18.

The Eagles began the second half with a 7-1 burst to take a 34-28 lead before Wagner intervened.

She knocked down backto-back 3-pointers to tie the score and then went 6 for 6 from the free-throw line down the stretch.

“We weren’t down too many times in games [this season],” McConnell said. “We came back and tied that game. I absolutely loved it. They showed poise, they showed character. They gave us a punch and we punched back and tied it.”